Sunday, 26 August 2012

Island Gardens and Mudchute

Island Gardens and Mudchute (20/03/12)

Less than a week after wrapping up two more stations, we set
out to complete both Island Gardens and Mudchute in one evening. However, due to sheer incompetence and
laziness on my part I’ve neglected to update the blog for over a month - it
being late April as I write this - resulting in me forgetting many of the
details about the night. Fortunately
though we did record the ratings of each pub we visited and it did result in
the conclusion of two more stations.

Four places were visited that evening, three of which belonged
to Island Gardens, and the other being the one solitary pub that would have the
weight of a whole DLR station resting upon its shoulders.

The four pubs were as follows

Great Eastern – A pub/hotel with an open planned bar and a
relaxed atmosphere

Ratings

Facilities – 3 – looked as though it had recently been
refurbished, but the budget seemingly didn’t stretch to include improving the
toilets. Strangely, seemed to have opted
to install many wobbly tables as well.

Atmosphere – 3 – Friendly barstaff who whistle as they pour
you a pint (although admittedly this may have been a one off), mixture of
guests and regular drinkers

Cost – 4 – Cannot argue with £6 for two pints!

Entertainment – 3.5 – Came with a TV for viewing football, a
jukebox and a weekly quiz night.

Selection – 2.5 – Disappointing. ‘Pre-wrapped wraps’ is all that was on offer
from a counter at the bar

OVERALL AVERAGE – 3.2/5

The Ferry House – A splendid little pub; warm, cosy and with
a local feel to it

Ratings

Facilities – 3.5 – Completely wooden interior, definitely
the pub with the most nooks and crannies on show so far

Entertainment – 4 – Came with a separate games room with old
fashioned pub games and a Bar Billiards Table that we pretended to know how to
use but instead made up our own rules

Selection – 1.5

OVERALL AVERAGE – 3.4/5

Lord Nelson – A sign outside offers the punter a ‘Warm Welcome’,
but turns out you have to pay for it.
Cold inside, and an outdoor heater that charges you 20p for every 5
minutes of use

Ratings

Facilities – 3

Atmosphere – 1.5 – The barmaid pulled off the incredible
feat of being able to serve me without actually

communicating with any
words. Some furniture seemed out of
place and had seemingly been borrowed from an American Diner.

Cost – 3.5

Entertainment – 3 – Came with a pool table with not enough
room to play around it, but there was an organised weekly pool tournament on
offer, of which the Eggles are the current champions. Many minutes were pondered over whether they
were a married couple or siblings. One
of our better conversations that one.

Selection – 3.5

OVERALL AVERAGE – 2.9/5

The Ship – Mudchute’s only pub. Situated on the periphery of our radius, it
actually makes sense to visit it from Island Gardens. Just so you know.

Ratings

Facilities – 3 – All pretty standard save for a cubicle in
the mens that was so cramped you almost had to stand on the toilet itself in
order to close the door behind you.
Would probably win the ‘Toilet you are most likely to get trapped in on
the DLR’ award if there ever was such a prize.

Atmosphere – 3.5 – Friendly barman although he did seem to
be trying a little too hard. Asked if we
wanted food and continued trying to sell it to us even after we’d politely
declined. He did however take the time
to recommend other pubs in the area.

Cost – 3.5

Entertainment – 2.5 – Just one TV – and West Ham were on
it. Live music on weekends

Selection – 3.5 – A fairly decent ‘less is more’ menu and a
range of beers on offer.

OVERALL AVERAGE – 3.4/5

Island Gardens is a quiet area, aside from the 3 pubs there
are a couple of restaurants, one of which that had been converted from an old
fire station. On the downside, there is
no longer a fire station! There is very
little else in close proximity to the DLR although there is easy access to
Cutty Sark and Greenwich via the Greenwich Foot Tunnel that runs beneath the
Thames.

Area – 2.5/5

ISLAND GARDENS OVERALL RATING – 5.7/10

Mudchute is extremely quiet, primarily residential with only
one pub, but here is a picture of a nice sunset to prove how picturesque the
area can be.